It may have been wet, cold and sloppy, but the 49ers defeated Washington 9-0 to move to 6-0 and stay atop the NFC. The sixth win of the season matches Kyle Shanahan’s season-high as the 49ers’ head coach. The offense struggled in part because of the weather conditions, but the defense continued their dominance shutting out Washington’s offense.
The list of studs and duds is created with the harsh weather in mind because how much it affects the game. Here is good and who wasn’t Sunday in Washington:
Stud: DL Nick Bosa
Bosa was all over the field Sunday, leading the 49ers with seven tackles, four of them for a loss. Of those four tackles for loss, the first really set the tone for the defense on Washington’s first drive. Bosa blew up a shovel pass on a third-and-5 from the 49ers’ 18 after Washington had a lot of success running the ball down the 49ers’ throat. Dustin Hopkins missed a field goal on the next play and the Washington offense couldn’t get back on track from there. Bosa also finished the game with a sack and a sweet celebration on the wet field:
Dud: LB Fred Warner
Washington ran the ball 26 times and Warner finished with a season-low two tackles. Entering Sunday, Warner led the 49ers with 31 tackles and his outing Sunday set a new career-low. It’s uncommon to see Warner struggle like he did Sunday with a couple of missed reads in the run game. It says a lot about the 49ers’ defense that one of their best players can have an off day and they still pitched a shutout.
Stud: Kendrick Bourne
The 49ers’ passing offense didn’t do much Sunday, totaling 151 passing yards. Bourne led the team with a season-high 69 yards on three receptions. He had catches of 28 and 26 yards, two of the three biggest gains for the offense. The 28-yard reception came on the second play of the second half and felt like it changed the tide for the entire offense.
Dud: First half Jimmy Garoppolo
The offense struggled in the first half. They gained just 68 total yards due in large part to Garoppolo’s sluggish play. He completed just 3 of 10 passes in the first two quarters for 10 yards, with nine coming on a completion to tight end George Kittle. The lone positive from Garoppolo’s first half was his ability to run the ball and escape Washington’s pass rush. He ran it four times for 20 yards.
Stud: Second half Jimmy Garoppolo
Things came much easier for Garoppolo in the second half. He completed 9 of 11 attempts for 141 yards and an interception. 94 of those 141 yards came on three passes — the two chunk plays to Bourne and a 40 yard reception by Richie James. The third quarter was the key for Garoppolo and the 49ers offense. The quarterback was able to orchestrate back-to-back drives for field goals, which proved to be enough to down Washington.
Stud: K Robbie Gould
Gould missed his first attempt of the day from 45 yards wide left, but he and Dustin Hopkins struggled kick from distance on that side of the field. Gould was solid after his first miss, hitting from 28, 22, and 29 yards, and scoring all the points for a 49ers offense that struggled all day due to the weather.
